A Flaming Cake, Food Preference in the Womb, and Tasting the New Choco Taco

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:11]Welcome to Food News. I'm Juliet Litman.

[00:00:12]>> And I'm David Jacoby.

[00:00:13]>> If you want to be a part of this podcast, give us a call. Give us a call at 850 Stu!

[00:00:19]136.

[00:00:21]Okay, um I can't save this to the end. I need to make a personal note.

[00:00:24]>> Wait, what? I have something >> You're breaking format. We haven't even started.

[00:00:29]>> something I needed to say at the top of the show. You didn't say top of the show. Okay, well how I need to tell >> said you can't wait till the [laughter] end. I have to tell you now.

[00:00:36]I have coffee on my shirt. My shirt is white and I didn't notice. It's a great shirt. You look great.

[00:00:42]>> I noticed it >> I noticed it before and I was like I'm just going to have to address it. You don't have to address it.

[00:00:47]>> on camera.

[00:00:48]>> I just want to say no one would notice.

[00:00:50]I don't even know where the coffee is.

[00:00:52]>> News. There's coffee on my shirt.

[00:00:54]There's food >> [laughter] >> THERE'S COFFEE ON MY SHIRT and this is Food News.

[00:00:58]>> I don't know when it happened.

[00:00:59]>> White shirts are stressful. I don't This isn't even a new white shirt, so it's fine, but I just um I know I'm doing my best. I got a haircut today at least, so there's that.

[00:01:08]>> looks great.

[00:01:09]>> Thank you so much, but yes.

[00:01:11]>> Um I really said [laughter] >> I have coffee on my shirt. Um I have really sensitive eyes to the cold >> Oh. and to the light.

[00:01:19]>> What?

[00:01:19]>> [laughter] >> Wait. Wait. It's freezing in this room.

[00:01:22]>> eyes to the cold?

[00:01:23]>> Yeah, like they're very So does my son.

[00:01:25]We both have very teary eyes.

[00:01:27]>> unhinged episode of Food News.

[00:01:29][laughter] Unhinged.

[00:01:30]>> Yeah. You did not need to break format to say you had a tiny teeny teeny tiny coffee stain. [laughter] And also, I have sensitive eyes?

[00:01:38]I That's fine. To the cold? Cold and to the elements. You don't You don't >> Which like earth, wind, and fire?

[00:01:46]>> [laughter] >> You don't get it cuz you don't have blue eyes. This is blue eyes.

[00:01:49]>> Oh god.

[00:01:50]And I'm sorry. It's true. Blue [laughter] eyes are more sensitive.

[00:01:55]Start the show, please.

[00:01:56]This episode of Food News is presented by Activia. Curious about supporting your gut health?

[00:02:02]Take the Activia Gut Health Challenge.

[00:02:04]Just enjoy two Activia yogurts a day for two weeks to help support your gut health. With billions of probiotics and 20 years of scientific expertise, Activia is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to start your gut health ritual. Try Activia today.

[00:02:18]Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, AND ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT. ALL RIGHT, good stories today, beginning with one of our hottest topics, Red Lobster.

[00:02:36]DeMoulin, get back to you yet? Uh, no, he did not.

[00:02:39]>> [laughter] >> He did not.

[00:02:40]This is ridiculous. Where is DeMoulin?

[00:02:43]>> W- What about our Booker? Has our Booker She hasn't heard back either.

[00:02:46]>> either? She hasn't heard back either?

[00:02:47]>> No. DeMoulin should be more available. I know. Of all the CEOs, like Should I DM him again? I'll DM him again after the show.

[00:02:54]>> I think so. I think also, why don't you just talk to your camera and ask DeMoulin to give you a call so you can post it.

[00:02:59]>> I would never.

[00:03:00]>> [laughter] >> Okay, fine. I'm not going to beg on my knees for DeMoulin to come on [ __ ] Food News. I'm not doing that. And the fact that you did You didn't even ask me to do it. You're like, "Do it." No, Juliet. I'm not going to beg DeMoulin to come on Food News.

[00:03:14]>> is watching right now, I'm sorry [laughter] that I have coffee on my shirt. Please come on Food News.

[00:03:20]>> not going on that show. This stained [laughter] shirt having people."

[00:03:24]>> to me. The haircut looks great, Juliet.

[00:03:27]Okay, well, DeMoulin should come on because the bad news keeps pouring out about Red Lobster. And this is a friendly friendly podcast. We'll be nice to you, man. We love Red Lobster. We don't do gotcha. We don't. So, just come.

[00:03:40]>> Well, >> [laughter] >> we've never had a guest. So, maybe we do do gotcha. I don't know. We don't do anything, actually.

[00:03:46]>> Right, it's on hand. If you were going to Red Lobster in Tallahassee, you probably one of the few people doing that. And I have bad news, it's closing.

[00:03:53]It's part of their extended real estate problem as we've discussed. Cutting losses.

[00:03:58]>> I saw a picture of this Tallahassee Red Lobster in an article from people.com.

[00:04:02]>> As did I.

[00:04:04]It looks so much like another Red Lobster in Florida that we wrote about in Bloomberg a few months ago that I had to go back to the Bloomberg article and be like, is that the same?

[00:04:12]>> contrast?

[00:04:13]>> Yeah, I was like, did we just read about this Red Lobster?

[00:04:15]>> prep you've ever done for food news.

[00:04:17]Well, what is Red Lobster? Got to bring my Hey yeah, >> [laughter] >> we have to memorialize this online. I'm playing from, you know, like a disadvantage cuz my shirt's dirty. So, >> [laughter] >> I had to If you mention your shirt another time, I'm leaving the studio.

[00:04:29]Okay?

[00:04:29]>> Okay, well, I'm sorry to the people of Tallahassee to lose their Red Lobster.

[00:04:32]That's the point.

[00:04:33]>> I did when I read Tallahassee and Red Lobster, I just felt like the Tallahassee Red Lobster is like the uh Red Lobster.

[00:04:42]>> Because it's the oldest continuously running Red Lobster. So, I guess there's other Red Lobsters that are older, but they didn't continuously run. Yes, it's been around for 56 years until now.

[00:04:52]That's That's almost as old as you. I love I mean, it's older than you.

[00:04:56][laughter] That's unnecessary [laughter] roughness.

[00:05:01]15 yards, Julie has been living unnecessary roughness. I'm so sorry. I'm punchy today, I guess.

[00:05:07]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. Despite my eyes being sensitive. It's cold. All right, shall we move on to a really fascinating story?

[00:05:14]This is about a Philadelphia bagel shop called New York Bagels. It seems to be in a strip mall in Philadelphia.

[00:05:20]>> Mhm.

[00:05:21]This It's in Overbrook Park. I have never heard of that before. This bagel shop has not had one, but two explosions >> Explosions. in the last year. Not fires.

[00:05:31]No, explosions.

[00:05:32]>> Explosions. I explosures explosions. And the owner's name Rawand Khayali, and he said, "I just kind of want to process this. What are the odds of this happening to me twice?"

[00:05:42]Well, Rawand, the odds are very are very high. But yeah, yeah, guess after one explosion the odds are that you've got an explosive bagel store. However, Juliet, remember before the show you were like there's something I need to tell you.

[00:05:56]>> Yeah. While we're on the show. Yeah.

[00:05:58]Right? And it no, I started by saying there's something I need to show you.

[00:06:01]>> Yeah. I want to show you something.

[00:06:02]>> Okay.

[00:06:03]>> So the owner's name is what? Rayan Kayali.

[00:06:05]>> seen him? No.

[00:06:07]He's [ __ ] hot.

[00:06:08]>> [laughter] >> Handsome guy. HE'S SO HOT. He's so [laughter] hot. LIKE I WAS LIKE GOD. HE LOOKS LIKE A LIKE HE LOOKS like a like a Manchester United striker.

[00:06:19]>> does. Yeah, he's a footballer.

[00:06:20][laughter] He's so handsome. This guy at the explosive bagel shop, I was just like I'm not normally taken aback by male hands handsomeness. I was just like whoa. He got me.

[00:06:33]>> Off Campus? It's like the newest like sensation on Amazon Prime. No, I'm not.

[00:06:37]>> The guy in it is really hot. I've been thinking about him all day. Um But Rayan Kayali >> Okay, so he said he can't believe what the odds of this happening to me twice.

[00:06:44]So I said the odds are pretty high and here's why. The first one said the explosion appeared to be linked to the the store's oven. And then the second one was linked to the shop's commercial range.

[00:06:59]>> Well, they're still investigating. It's still mid-investigation about the range.

[00:07:03]>> are two appliances that usually are like connected to each other, near each other, and like use the same you know >> gas line.

[00:07:11]>> gas line. So I can't say that I'm as shocked, says Rayan.

[00:07:17]I can't You're not ready to lay anything >> I can't hear anything [laughter] Rayan says. I'm lost in his face. Yeah. And his perfect beard. He's got great beard.

[00:07:28]Um apparently it's also the oldest kosher kosher institution in the area.

[00:07:32]Really? And I believe I told you that I felt I felt like this sort of this hijacking of bagels was an affront to Judaism and this sort of proves my point. Bagels are meant to be a local Jewish institution. Oh.

[00:07:45]Well, you also said that you have no idea where Overbrook is.

[00:07:48]>> [laughter] >> So It's in the Philadelphia area. Okay.

[00:07:52]But these explosions look big. Like the entire the entire windows were blown out. Like >> He's really he he is right.

[00:07:58]>> This is like a movie explosion. His employees overslept their alarm the other day, so they were not there.

[00:08:03]That's what he said. Do you think >> Wait, are the employees sleeping together? I don't know, but that's >> Wait a second. My bare question is did the employees know this was going to happen? Is this an insurance play?

[00:08:14]Inside job? I don't know.

[00:08:16]Just all the employees just weren't there on time on the same day?

[00:08:20]I think the employees are having an affair together and they set their alarm and they were sleeping and they forgot about the alarm and they slept through it. It's a male and female. Interesting.

[00:08:31]So this is this is uncovering a workplace relationship.

[00:08:35]>> Yes. Cuz the other thing is last for the first explosion, no one died, but someone got injured. They're they're okay now. This time everyone was fine. I do feel like someone was like running it back and they're like, "Okay, the coast is clear for the explosion."

[00:08:47]>> The he Rayan said that they prepared for the grand reopening. They prepared thousands of bagels and they all exploded.

[00:08:56]That sucks. All that hard work gone to waste. I tried to find him. I I might have Googled him to try to find him.

[00:09:01]>> did find him handsome. Handsome.

[00:09:03][laughter] Is he your stud of the year so far?

[00:09:06]Um And the developer first. Okay. Jamal is definitely he's the star of the pod, yeah. Yeah, should we reach out to Rayan and see if he'll come on the show? I've kind of insulted him in a lot of ways, so I don't think so.

[00:09:18]>> Okay, let's move on.

[00:09:19]>> [laughter] >> Okay, next story. This one is about grapefruit, which comes up periodically.

[00:09:24]I learned a lot about grapefruit. The headline, this is from Food and Wine written by Merlin Miller. Does grapefruit juice actually make your coffee buzz last longer? I thought Merlin told a great story here. She's a great writer. He or she, I'm assuming it's a she for I don't know why.

[00:09:37]Merlin went to a place in Tampa called Buddy Brew Coffee and on the menu is the Buddy Brew Screw. It is a shot of espresso, a side of grapefruit juice, and a small spoonful of salt. And the reason why is there is some science that suggests that grapefruit may extend the life of caffeine.

[00:09:56]Um, have you ever heard of this before?

[00:09:58]No. Do you think this sounds good?

[00:10:00]No.

[00:10:01]You don't?

[00:10:01]>> [snorts] >> No. Why not?

[00:10:05]I'm curious about the salt.

[00:10:06]Yeah, like They're like it's like oh the salt is there to cut the acidity of the grapefruit. I'm like well isn't the grapefruit like already sour? And I think that's supposed to cut the the espresso. I think the the sugar >> yeah. It should be like a sweetness here.

[00:10:19]>> part. I was confused by it. It's like espresso sour, grapefruit sour, and then we have salt to cut the sourness. I'm like no no no no no, sugar.

[00:10:26]>> Right, right. I I thought it was confusing.

[00:10:28]>> Have you ever poured sugar on top of a grapefruit and then eaten it with a grapefruit um spoon?

[00:10:33]I've been around >> grapefruit spoons? No, I know. I have I have grapefruit spoons. Um, did you get them for your wedding or did you buy them? Ooh, I don't know the answer.

[00:10:40]Cannot confirm nor deny. Um, I'm not a big grapefruit eater but like I would probably like it with sugar on it. That sounds nice. It's lovely. Yeah, it sounds delicious.

[00:10:49]>> Yeah. Um the reason why this is a thing is because grapefruit affects the enzymes in your body that um help you metabolize different kind >> Would you like me to read from the article? Sure. Quote, "Caffeine gets dismantled by an enzyme in the liver called cytochrome P450 parentheses specifically the 1A2 version of the enzyme.

[00:11:15]The shorthand tag is CYP1A2. A compound in in then I fell asleep.

[00:11:22]>> [laughter] >> Like what I was You forgot the important line. The caffeine gets dismantled more slowly and sticks around in the body longer.

[00:11:29]>> before I got to the line. I couldn't [laughter] help it. It's kind >> falling asleep before the end of a movie. I only made it through three quarters of the Knicks game and that's kind of what's happening [laughter] to you. I know. What are you doing? I know.

[00:11:42]>> [gasps] >> I fell asleep. Um, I can't help it. I've got a baby. Anyway, I thought this was kind of interesting.

[00:11:47]Um, I I I found it interesting. It was a little too scientific for my taste, but I will also say that outside of the the salt throwing me off is maybe this is true, but does it it takes so much to give me a caffeine buzz in the first place? And how much is is grapefruit really going to like kick it in, you know?

[00:12:08]>> the absence of caffeine more than I feel caffeine. Like like if I don't cuz I'm addicted. So if I don't have coffee, I have a headache. If I don't have coffee if I don't have sugar. Like yesterday I had like a not a lot of sugar and I woke up with an awful headache. Really?

[00:12:19]>> Yes, I have a real addiction. It's not good.

[00:12:22]And so I'm sort of like and also I just drink coffee freely. So I'm not worried about my caffeine. Like if I need more caffeine, I'll just have it. So why am I trying to extend its life? I'm not even sure it's actually working.

[00:12:33]>> Yeah, sometimes like I'll have a coffee at like 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. and people will be like, this late in the day? I'm just like, are you kidding me? He loves He loves a 4:00 coffee.

[00:12:41]>> Yeah, it's like, are you kidding me?

[00:12:42]Like what do you think this is going [laughter] to keep me up?

[00:12:44]>> I know. It does make me a little bit more jittery. I feel like cuz of my body It's just You fell asleep in the third quarter of the Knicks game last night.

[00:12:50]I'm just saying if I had coffee maybe at 6:00, maybe I wouldn't have cuz like my body's rhythm is I I just sort of like lose the taste for it. It's not like a sleeping thing. But yeah, I mean I I felt up. Um, okay. Let's move on to today's viral video. This week's viral video comes from a baker. Her name is Julia Fredella. She is the owner of the Sweet Hustle. Uh, it's in New Orleans.

[00:13:16]According to this article by Joseph Lamour of today.com, not only she's a baker, but she's also a business coach.

[00:13:24]I saw that.

[00:13:26]Raises some questions based on the video, which we're going to describe for you so that Mike can play it. Julia found out made a cake for her friend's boyfriend >> boyfriend who was turning 35 based on the candle I saw on the cake. Mhm. And um it turned out that he was cheating on the woman who had the cake made for him.

[00:13:45]So Julia helped her friend by bringing the cake to her own home, setting it on a table in her backyard, and then setting it on fire. [laughter] It It was a well executed.

[00:13:56]It was well executed.

[00:13:58]>> [snorts] >> In this video, did you find anything particularly noticeable? Yes. Um the cheating bad, right?

[00:14:08]>> [laughter] >> The fire execution was great. However, what is being overlooked is the fact that it was a black cake to begin with.

[00:14:16]>> Oh, so it's like the the ashy Yeah, like the actual cake itself. Like who's like, um yeah, like a birthday cake. Like what color would you like it? Like white or pink? It's like, no, no, black. Make it a black cake. There was really bad photography, so I'm I It was definitely a dark color. It may not have actually been black. Might have just been like in the shadows, but it definitely was dark.

[00:14:34]>> I've never seen black frosting before.

[00:14:36]Well That's a black and white cookie, I guess. It's very hard for me to understand how you could just like trash your own work this way. Like I understand like maybe just like dump it on the ground, but to risk fire when you've made this cake yourself? I was like, this is a great friend, I guess.

[00:14:52]But the whole thing was really weird.

[00:14:54]Also, I didn't know that cake was like a fire risk. So I didn't know it could be set on fire. Well, she obviously put some like lighter fluid on top of it.

[00:15:02]>> Yeah, yeah, whatever.

[00:15:03]But he meant to say >> well executed. It was It was a really weird video. I find this woman to be quite remarkable. I do, too. I'm not going to be seeking out her bakery anytime soon. They said almond flavored cake and they said it's popular in >> Like marzipan, that sounds good. Yeah.

[00:15:17]I'm interested.

[00:15:18]>> I'll take it. But from someone else, not from >> [laughter] >> Julia Frudella. No, thank you.

[00:15:23]Okay, on to another headline from the BBC. Food preferences could start in the womb.

[00:15:31]I have a lot of takes on on this.

[00:15:32]>> Okay, let and this like rings very important to me cuz I always felt that like my sweet tooth was must have been cuz my mom had a lot of sugar while I was in the womb. Do you know that she's going to hear this? It's fine. And why would you say that?

[00:15:46]Like because I'm not afraid of of what my mom thinks about that statement.

[00:15:50]>> I'm afraid of what your mom thinks about that statement. [laughter] Betty Jane, I apologize on behalf of your daughter cuz she now she's like you gave me that headache last night. That's what you said. You're like last night I had a headache [laughter] cuz I didn't eat that much sugar and it's because Betty Jane did it.

[00:16:02]>> that still her fault? What are your takes? Let's hear it.

[00:16:05]Okay. Hm. Where to begin?

[00:16:09]They did a study, right?

[00:16:13]And they gave pregnant women um carrot and kale pills, basically.

[00:16:20]>> Why are we doing this study?

[00:16:22]>> [laughter] >> Like what Who is like someone did some grant give them a hundred thousand dollars to give pregnant women carrot pills to see if the babies like carrots afterwards? Why Why? Also Like who needs to find this out? Cure cancer. Couldn't they just feed them carrots? Like ask them to eat carrots? [laughter] Yeah, again. Like why What scientist like gets home from their long day of work to their husband and is like oh so hey honey, what did you do today? So I was like well we've got a new we've got a new study. We're going to find out if babies like kale if we just stuff the mom with kale and then post-birth we'll see if they still LIKE KALE. WHY? WHY?

[00:17:00]>> IT'S pretty interesting. Understanding fetal development is pretty fascinating.

[00:17:04]>> No one said anything about fetal development. Well, they compared them to the reactions in the womb and it is related to fetal development and how like your sense of smell and taste evolves when you're in there.

[00:17:16]I do find that was interesting. I did find it interesting especially cuz when I was pregnant I basically only ate bagels and cream cheese like almost exclusively.

[00:17:23]>> [laughter] >> So on brand.

[00:17:26]So on brand.

[00:17:28]>> [laughter] >> I didn't even mean it to be. I didn't even think about it.

[00:17:32]>> ate bagels and cream cheese. [laughter] I was nauseous so often that I would and like I would just have half a bagel for breakfast and the other half for lunch and I don't remember dinner.

[00:17:40]Um but all I remember is bagels and scallion cream cheese from Liberty Bagels Market.

[00:17:44]>> episode of food news.

[00:17:45]>> [laughter] >> It really is. Your haircut looks great.

[00:17:48]Thank you so coffee on my shirt.

[00:17:51]>> this is going great. [laughter] Anyway, I'm like I can't wait to find out if my kid is going to really like bagels and cream cheese. Well, guess what? He does. And he >> quite eat them yet. What? Well, he can't quite have like the real experience of biting into a bagel. He can like chew on it, suck on it and stuff, but it's not the same.

[00:18:06]This morning for quick personal food news? No.

[00:18:09]Okay, fine. Anyway, I [laughter] I found this pretty interesting. But another part of this is weird about it is again the part of the follow-up but the children were filmed smelling wet cotton swabs dipped in either carrot or kale powder.

[00:18:22]>> we doing? Like what are we doing?

[00:18:24]>> you again feed them cotton or kale?

[00:18:27]>> kale? It's like cotton or carrots or kale.

[00:18:30]>> Yes, I don't think feeding babies cotton is a good idea. I don't get it. And then the advice and like the takeaway from it was advising mothers to be to eat a varied diet of fruit and vegetables.

[00:18:40]>> I mean okay, good advice.

[00:18:42]>> how many like how many fad diets have we covered on this show and at the at the end of the day it's always like eat healthy.

[00:18:47]Like yeah, if you're if you're pregnant you should probably eat healthier maybe not just exclusively bagels and cream cheese.

[00:18:52]>> Yes. But whatever works for you. No judgement free zone right here.

[00:18:55]>> the best that I could and I have a pretty cute kid so it's fine. Often judging. Um I'm often judging too. It's all it's all good.

[00:19:02]>> All right, moving on to our next story.

[00:19:06]This is about the World Cup which is rapidly approaching. It's coming. Are you going to try to go to a match? I've looked I've looked at the prices. It's like an It's like a Knicks playoff game.

[00:19:14]It's just like I want to go. And like I I technically >> No.

[00:19:19]No. I could get like a press pass, but that's not fun.

[00:19:22]Um I've never been to MetLife Stadium.

[00:19:24]I don't want to go. Like the logistics are too hard. No, I that's fear-mongering. They're fear-mongering the World Cup. I don't know why or who's behind it, but they're like, "You can never get to New Jersey and back." Like yes, you can. You can drive, you can take the train. There's a lot of ways to do it. So what? Trains are going to be ridiculously expensive. But yes, I have a car, I could drive.

[00:19:41]>> Yeah, it's not impossible to get to New Jersey, but >> though, like sucks.

[00:19:45]Yes. In general.

[00:19:46]>> You And you kind of have to leave early.

[00:19:48]Yeah, to be able to get out.

[00:19:49]>> Which people did last night at the Knicks game. Like you.

[00:19:52]>> I fell asleep. I can't believe you did that.

[00:19:54]>> And then I did wake up and I was like, "Wait, they won?" It was crazy. We're taping this on Wednesday, by the way.

[00:19:59]Yeah, just for the listeners. Yeah, sorry. Um I don't know why I apologize.

[00:20:03]So >> [laughter] >> the the governor of New Jersey, uh Mikey Sherrill, has recommended She signed a proclamation encouraging municipalities to temporarily extend alcohol sales during matches. Since it is 2026 and not 1776, a proclamation is sort of meaningless. It's basically a recommendation that bars stay open later so that people can go out drinking after World Cup matches.

[00:20:31]>> Here's my question.

[00:20:33]This would make sense if the World Cup was in Australia or something. But it's on our time zone schedule.

[00:20:40]>> And a lot of the games matches are kind of early so that people in other countries can watch them.

[00:20:44]>> I guess I guess that the West Coast ones, like maybe the West Coast ones, they want to stay open for that. I couldn't figure out like what the point of this was.

[00:20:51]>> this was like because she has MetLife Stadium in her state. She was like, "Let's all rally around this event and stay open late and like make it fun." I don't know. It's I don't know either.

[00:20:59]It's really confusing. I am excited about the World Cup. Like I I hope there's like a real energy around the city and stuff. I want to watch matches and There will be energy around the city. Lots of tourists.

[00:21:09]>> Who are you going to Well, the hotels are saying they haven't felt the impact of it yet, so I don't know about that.

[00:21:13]>> Have you spoken to the hotels?

[00:21:14]>> Uh no, I I've read about it.

[00:21:17]>> are saying I read about it in the news.

[00:21:19]Oh, okay.

[00:21:20]>> It's hotel news, my secret podcast.

[00:21:22]>> Yes, [laughter] yes.

[00:21:24]Hotel news.

[00:21:27]>> [laughter] >> Your secret podcast. Yes. All right, Jacoby, let's get into today's taste test.

[00:21:34]This episode is brought to you by Pure Michigan. In Grand Rapids, craft isn't just a trend, it's a tradition. From small batch brews to a dining scene that keeps evolving, where art spills into the streets and along the riverfront, every outing is a story worth savoring.

[00:21:50]It's no surprise Grand Rapids ranks as the number one city on the rise from LinkedIn, where a thriving food culture meets creativity at every turn, inviting you to find a rhythm all your own, season after season, in Pure Michigan. Find your season at experiencegr.com.

[00:22:07]>> [music] >> Oh my god, we have got an awesome producer.

[00:22:18]>> IT.

[00:22:20]THE TACO LATTE.

[00:22:22]THE TACO [ __ ] latte, people.

[00:22:24]>> We discussed this. Producer Mike crushed it. He went to Salt & Straw, which is now open in New York.

[00:22:31]And got the Taco Latte.

[00:22:32]>> Which one did you go to? Which location?

[00:22:34]Upper West, which is on Amsterdam Avenue. So, this This is the We've discussed this. This took There was engineers in Europe that spent years >> Yes, that worked with Taco Bell to create this Taco Latte. Oh, oh, IT COMES WITH A SAUCE.

[00:22:47]>> GOD, IT COMES OOH, NICE.

[00:22:49]>> WILD BERRY cinnamon cinnamon or you have two sauces?

[00:22:51]>> have different sauces.

[00:22:53]>> got one sauce. You got two sauces? Oh my god, first of all, I'm special. I also just want to say shout out to Producer Mike, who brought these in a cooler.

[00:23:00]This is so cool. Oh, my god. than a cooler. Thank you so much. Cooler than this room right now.

[00:23:05]>> toenails.

[00:23:06]>> Mango, jalapeno, and wild berry cinnamon is what I have.

[00:23:10]>> Which is cuz I said to be warm and jammy, and the other is bright and juicy.

[00:23:13]>> typical um Choco Taco.

[00:23:17]>> is our best taste test we've ever had.

[00:23:20]You've never tasted it yet. Yeah, but the concept of it is so phenomenal.

[00:23:24]>> [laughter] >> Well, actually my favorite was when I was putting with my closed hand and closed eyes one. Okay, so you want to go with the wild berry cinnamon?

[00:23:31]>> one I got.

[00:23:33]Okay, there I got mine open. Oh, it smells like dark chocolate. Mhm.

[00:23:37]Is it good?

[00:23:38]Have you been to Salt & Straw before?

[00:23:39]No. Hell yeah, this is good. Okay, I I can't believe I have to try the mango jalapeno. This is crazy.

[00:23:45]>> extra crunchy waffle taco packed with cinnamon ancho ice cream, dunked in dark chocolate, and studded with puffed quinoa. This is an elevated experience.

[00:23:56]Choco tacos are like very processed and and candy-ish. This is like a real like curated experience. It's good. It's good. Okay, so the mango jam. Here, you should try some.

[00:24:10]I really like it. It's not too spicy for me.

[00:24:12]It's a little bit of a kick, but the Choco Taco >> is so good.

[00:24:16]>> Where do you get these Salt & Straw? You You can't get them at Taco Bell? No, I think they're just at Salt & Straw. Oh my god. That's fantastic. They're really good.

[00:24:24]Oh, yeah.

[00:24:25]Can I try wild berry cinnamon? It's so much better than You have your own wild berry cinnamon, but here's mine.

[00:24:29]>> But this is my favorite. It's already open. Um the mango I did not enjoy. Wild berry cinnamon I did. I think the Choco Taco does not need a sauce. I think it's just like the the Taco Bell of it all.

[00:24:38]It doesn't need a sauce. It's just fantastic. This is really cool.

[00:24:41]Oh, this is great.

[00:24:43]On the group chat, Mike was like, I got the taste test this week. And you could tell just from the text he was very confident about it, and he delivered.

[00:24:50]The sauces are really superfluous. I'd say no sauce.

[00:24:53]>> need them. Yeah, they do not need them.

[00:24:54]I think the Taco Bell is like, we do sauces.

[00:24:56]So like, we're going to do a sauce, but you do not need the sauce. Julius is now just eating it. You're just eating it now. Like, it's supposed to be a taste test, and then you like, taste it and talk about it and move on. But, you're now just eating the Choco Taco.

[00:25:07]>> a question for you. Um, I'll pass. How do you feel about the floppiness of the taco? It's it's The waffle.

[00:25:14]The problem >> of the reasons why I had to take another bite to really assess it.

[00:25:18]>> course. You should probably assess it again. Um, I would say that I'm a Choco Taco loyalist and I'm conservative when it comes to Choco Tacos.

[00:25:28]I'm a traditionalist. I like >> Strict constructionist.

[00:25:31]>> Yes.

[00:25:32]>> [gasps] >> I like the original Choco Taco so much that I find this one to be a little like Too pre- Too cute.

[00:25:40]>> Fancy. Yeah. You know, it's like a little too fancy. I really like it. It's a good good execution. I would not get that over just ice cream in a cup.

[00:25:49]Fair. If I was at Salt & Straw, but I do like the idea of it a lot. It'd be great at a wedding or like at a Knicks game.

[00:25:55]Apparently, this is a great favor. Like, to be able to order them in bulk for your event.

[00:25:59]>> to be clear. You said a wedding or a Knicks game? I just [laughter] want to be clear.

[00:26:03]was just saying. You've got a little Choco Taco on your lip. I was just saying. You're like, this would be great at a wedding or a Knicks game. Like, how are those How do you I still don't understand how those are the two events that you pulled from your brain of where a Choco Taco would be good. Well, it's like high-end. So, I'm thinking about like the fancy people who are at the Knicks game last night.

[00:26:19]>> sweet.

[00:26:20]>> [snorts] >> Or like in like the lower bowl where they have like waiters and stuff. Yeah, they can go to like the club in the back.

[00:26:26]>> on me that this is going to air on Friday and there's going to be a Thursday Knicks game. Whatever.

[00:26:30]>> What if they lost?

[00:26:31]>> We're just doing the best we can. Are we? Yeah. We We tape on Wednesdays. Welcome behind the curtain, everybody. Um This is another comment I have about the Choco Latte.

[00:26:42]I [snorts] um don't like dark chocolate.

[00:26:45]Really?

[00:26:47]I think it's appropriate for that. I wouldn't recommend it be milk chocolate.

[00:26:50]But, like, the dark chocolate is lingering in my mouth and I would rather the ice cream linger in my mouth. So, I've never met anyone that has strong feelings about milk versus dark chocolate. Well, I'm a low-end girl at the end of the day and I I like a shitty milk chocolate.

[00:27:03]>> I like a dark chocolate. I don't almost ever.

[00:27:06]I like it here cuz it's like not the fanciest of dark chocolates but that's that's my full analysis of the Taco Latte. I think it was you did a great job.

[00:27:15]>> Thank you. And this is a great segue into my personal food news. Oh.

[00:27:19]I did something actually that we talked about a few years ago that I haven't we haven't discussed in a while.

[00:27:23]>> me to remember what we talked about a few years ago? Okay.

[00:27:26]>> [laughter] >> But it is a personal food news follow-up.

[00:27:28]>> This is exciting. I was at Anita Gelato yesterday.

[00:27:31]>> familiar.

[00:27:31]>> I went to the one in Nomad. Okay. No line.

[00:27:36]And I uh was getting the smallest size possible and they give you so much ice cream.

[00:27:43]>> It's ridiculous.

[00:27:43]>> They also kind of make you get two flavors. I guess you could get one flavor but it's so much gelato that like it's just too much of one flavor.

[00:27:50]>> The cup is small? Yeah, and also >> quantity is large and I do remember this personal food news follow-up cuz this is one of your best takes. Yes. So, when I was there, I was like "Please don't give me the full serving." I was like, "I don't want it." And he said, "I mean, I have to charge you the same." I said, "Yeah, of course. No No problem."

[00:28:06]Yes, no no problem.

[00:28:08]>> superfluous gelato."

[00:28:10]>> So, I think I probably had like a third of what they regularly give you and it was great. It lasted me a few blocks as I walked down the street. I was satisfied but not like sick from so much of it.

[00:28:21]>> I didn't mind paying the full price and I was like glad that we could work together on hitting the appropriate amount of ice cream for me. So, thank you to this lovely man at Anita Gelato in the Nomad location. Um also happy to tell everyone that Anita Gelato is no longer like impenetrable because it's so popular. Like you can pretty much go easily all the time now.

[00:28:40]>> it. Yeah. And it's very good. I had two flavors. I had Cookie Man which I don't know why it's called Cookie Man. Cookie Man? [laughter] That's the worst superhero I've ever heard of. It's sort of like Cookie Monster's dad. This is like the >> [snorts] >> voice has been on for too long. Now that we have we have Cookie Man, it's just like, all right, we get it. Um I had Cookie Man, and then I had um So you got two flavors?

[00:29:00]>> Yeah. So oh, so I thought that you would limit your quantity by just getting one flavor, but you got like a half serving of two. I got less than a half serving of two, I think. You said 1/3. Yeah. That's I I I stand by it.

[00:29:13]>> [laughter] >> I had that and I had one that was like a fruity one. It was like a white chocolate with berries. It was really good. The white chocolate berries was awesome. Um and I was just really glad we could work together and thank you to Anita Gelato NoMad location. Shout to them. Shout to you. This is one of your best takes and I think about it all the time. It's small ice cream servings are too big.

[00:29:34]>> Yeah, and I didn't want to drip all over me. That was another like motivating factor here. I was like, this it's really hot out.

[00:29:40]>> [clears throat] >> It's going to be all over me. And my hands, maybe my dress. I couldn't have that. So I just was doing I was just trying to enjoy my ice cream, but not have it just like take down my day. And um I aced it.

[00:29:51]Great job by you.

[00:29:52]>> Thank you. And him. Thanks, yeah. Thanks to Anita Gelato. Um >> I said that almost as many times as my There's coffee on my shirt. I told you not to bring it up again.

[00:30:00]>> [laughter] >> Sorry. I said I was going to leave the studio and now I'm not a man of my word.

[00:30:04][ __ ] we're both staying here.

[00:30:06]Your turn. [laughter and gasps] Um I did something I've been meaning to do for years um ever since I moved to the Upper East Side. Shout to unique name, not going to um say it.

[00:30:15]>> Um there's a place called Lafayette Candy Shop and they're famous and they're they also get Tik Tok'd a lot because they make Coca-Cola the old school way.

[00:30:24]>> Like with with Coke syrup and seltzer.

[00:30:27]And they're famous for this.

[00:30:28]>> Sounds awful.

[00:30:29]Um it was we first of all, I had nothing to do with my kids right? And it was just me and my baby and my son.

[00:30:37]And it was he's like, let's go to that place and get that Coca-Cola. I'm like, fine. So we go there, wait online.

[00:30:42]>> wants to do a food adventure. I love it.

[00:30:44]>> Yeah, he loves food adventures.

[00:30:45]So, we get there and we wait online and um they sit us down and it's just a diner.

[00:30:52]So, we get burgers and we got He's like, we need to get an egg cream and a Coca-Cola. He's like, I'm going to get the Coca-Cola, you get the egg cream.

[00:30:58]And I was like, no, dude, I'm getting Coca-Cola, too. And we'll get this an egg cream for the table. Can we pause on egg creams for one I will come back to it. Keep going.

[00:31:05]No, I feel like you you said pause, so we have to pause and and do a side quest now.

[00:31:10]>> [laughter and gasps] >> Egg creams frequent order for you?

[00:31:12]>> No. Oh my god. It's not a frequent order for anybody under 80 years old.

[00:31:17]>> Okay. My dad's under 80 and he orders them frequently. We had an awesome >> From the diner. Any diner he goes to. We went to the Mystic Diner in Mystic, Connecticut on Sunday and had such a good egg cream.

[00:31:28]>> Egg creams are fantastic.

[00:31:29]>> We used to make egg creams in my home growing up. I I can make it FOR YOU.

[00:31:33]>> THINK ANYONE'S ever made an egg cream in their home.

[00:31:35]>> We We used to keep U-Bet syrup, chocolate, strawberry, and coffee in my home. I wasn't prepared for this cuz I was like, I want an egg cream. They're like, what flavor would you like? And I was like, floored. I was like, I didn't know there was like another level to ordering an egg cream. I was There's vanilla, too, but we never had vanilla.

[00:31:49]>> I got vanilla. Okay, vanilla's good.

[00:31:50]It's It's the egg cream experience I I'm not as experienced >> Egg cream is milk, seltzer, flavored water I mean, sorry, flavored syrup and you mix it all up. It's like bubbly and whatever.

[00:32:01]>> no eggs involved? Um not anymore. And you put whipped cream on top. Cuz I didn't give it to the baby cuz the baby we haven't cleared her for eggs yet. But now but I assumed there was eggs in there. No.

[00:32:13]I could have given it to the baby. Yeah, you could have. She probably would have liked it, too.

[00:32:17]She's into sweets.

[00:32:17]>> I thought it was fantastic and >> Egg creams are awesome. Yeah.

[00:32:20]>> The old school Coca-Cola literally tasted like a Coke that you added like a splash of seltzer on top.

[00:32:26]It's kind of like a watered-down Coke, but it was refreshing in a way It was like a It was almost like a cola-flavored seltzer rather than like a a thick fake Coke. It was nice. So, you liked it? I did like it. Yes.

[00:32:39]>> I thought it was going to be disgusting.

[00:32:40]>> No, it was nice. It was more refreshing.

[00:32:42]It didn't have that syrupy feel that like Which is so funny cuz it's made with syrup.

[00:32:47]>> Yeah, the viscosity level was like Appropriate?

[00:32:49]>> Yeah, it just felt a little more lighter. Yeah, it felt lighter than like a regular Coke. The egg cream was great though.

[00:32:55]>> Egg creams are awesome.

[00:32:56]>> was basically like a milkshake. It was like a milkshake without the milkshake.

[00:33:00]>> But there's like no Yeah, it's it's thinner and >> thinner.

[00:33:02]>> Yeah, cuz it's it's milk instead of like ice cream or whatever.

[00:33:05]>> know that I loved egg creams and I didn't know that egg creams were like a part of your Oh, huge part of my family's lore. Huge.

[00:33:12]>> Really?

[00:33:12]>> Yeah, and like I just cuz I was like The Litman canon? Absolutely. Yeah, cuz we also always have had syrup in the house like available to make your own chocolate milk, to make your own egg cream >> egg cream at home? You get you pour in milk and then you start stirring.

[00:33:25]>> Milk? How much milk? Talk to me. I think you do I do you like half or two-thirds milk, start stirring and then you put in >> Just the milk you stir?

[00:33:32]>> Yeah, you need to start to get your syrup in nicely. And then you add [clears throat] the flavor syrup? The syrup Yeah, the syrup. Yeah, you do milk and then syrup, mix it up so like you're like with a chocolate milk or whatever.

[00:33:41]And then you and then you add in your seltzer.

[00:33:44]It's that simple?

[00:33:45]>> Yeah, and then you have and then that gives you a nice top. That the mixing is so you have a nice froth on the top.

[00:33:50]Yeah, there's it was very frothy on top.

[00:33:51]>> Yeah, that's how you get it. No eggs involved? No eggs involved.

[00:33:54]>> be egg whites involved? Uh I don't know.

[00:33:57]It's I think it's because of the foam is eggy. It's like reminds you of that. But there's no eggs involved. The foam reminds you of eggs?

[00:34:03]>> That's I think where it comes from. I There must have been some egg white involved. Have you had like a like a whiskey sour with egg whites?

[00:34:09]>> Yeah, like a yeah, like a whiskey like a pisco sour too. Yeah, those are good.

[00:34:12]>> If you're protein maxing, it's a good idea. Yeah, that's a great way to get your cows in.

[00:34:16]>> max all the time.

[00:34:18]>> [laughter and gasps] >> Um yeah, great great stuff.

[00:34:21]Um Anyway, love that you had an egg cream and this delicious Coke. I believe that you had one other thing you wanted to mention on [clears throat] the salad beat.

[00:34:28]Oh, oh my god. I I believe [clears throat] you're making me do this. Well, you put it on the rundown.

[00:34:33]We don't have to, man.

[00:34:35]Yes.

[00:34:35]>> again.

[00:34:37]>> [laughter] >> No fork?

[00:34:38]>> No fork. But this time I'm on the subway train and I'm starving.

[00:34:42]>> you mean this time? It's the same as the first time. I sat on the train and just ate a salad with my hands.

[00:34:48]And I didn't have napkins, either.

[00:34:49]>> honestly insane.

[00:34:51]On the train just eating a salad. And it was like it was a Greek salad with like feta and olives and like lots of dressing. And I'm just sitting there >> messy? It was insane. I was like, if I saw myself right now, I would think that I was crazy.

[00:35:05]>> Yeah, you I'd be calling 311 about you.

[00:35:09]I'm [laughter] just eating a salad with my hands. And I didn't And I couldn't I didn't [clears throat] have anything to like wipe the salad dressing off my hands. So I'm just like eat I'm like licking my fingers and I'm using the side of the bag as a napkin.

[00:35:21]And as it got to the point where like the the bag was so messy that like even when I wiped my fingers off, I was like the equal amount that was getting off of my fingers I was getting back onto my fingers that I was touching the bag.

[00:35:31]>> [laughter] >> And I'm on the train and there's people looking at me. Yes, there's people looking at me. I had a seat, so at least I was sitting, so I wasn't standing doing this.

[00:35:38]>> If your arm was around the pole and you were [laughter] going in Yeah, yeah, yeah. that would be insane. So I was just like I was one of those moments where I was like, if I wasn't me and I saw me, I would think that I'm crazy.

[00:35:48]That is I can't believe it happened again. It's It's on me at this point.

[00:35:52]Like I should just know. I think we got to start You should start carrying a fork. I'm going to get you I'm not going to carry a fork. I think you'd be like very Japanese of you. Whenever I go to like a Japanese market, they're selling great like to-go um utensils. Like a Swiss Army knife?

[00:36:06]>> Kind of like a bento box kind of thing, but like just the utensils. God, I can't believe I put that on the rundown. Okay, well, you did, so don't blame it on me.

[00:36:14]It was a good story. It's a good visual of you just like putting salad into your mouth and then back in and then back in.

[00:36:20]>> looking around to see who's watching.

[00:36:22]Right.

[00:36:22]>> I'm like hiding it. Sounds bad. It was bad. I don't know why I couldn't just wait until I got home. I oh I did to do stuff. I did do stuff, yeah.

[00:36:30]That sounds like very ominous. Um okay, let's get into our listener food news.

[00:36:35]I'm just like playing with a packet of wild berry cinnamon warm and jammy syrup here.

[00:36:40]Hi Juliet and Jacoby. Uh this is Steph, not a unique name. I am not calling from my car and I got the phone number from Juliet's Instagram.

[00:36:52]But I have a couple questions related to you donuts. So I own a little donut shop bakery in upstate New York and I'm around donuts all day and one of the trends is that people have been doing savory donut fillings.

[00:37:08]So the one I see most often is scallion cream cheese with everything bagel seasoning on on it and wondering if this would interest you.

[00:37:19]And if this might change your mind that a donut could possibly be a breakfast item?

[00:37:26]My second question is if you had to have a savory donut for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner, what would be your ideal savory filling in that donut?

[00:37:39]Anyway, got to go. Love you guys. Bye.

[00:37:43]Okay, a few things. First of all, I support Steph and her >> Me too. It's awesome. I want to know where it is in upstate New York.

[00:37:49]>> shout it out.

[00:37:50]>> Valley? You know, is it Albany? Or is it Rochester? Like what are we talking? Um Number one, she's like maybe a donut could be a breakfast item. Isn't a donut a breakfast item like by default? Am I wrong?

[00:38:04]>> Well, I think that maybe she's playing she's referring to how you say muffins are cake and like shouldn't shouldn't be eaten for breakfast.

[00:38:10]>> I would never eat a donut for breakfast and be like that was my breakfast. So she knows you well.

[00:38:15]>> a breakfast dessert, is what it is.

[00:38:16]>> knows you well. Um if I have a donut for breakfast, I'm happy and then sad cuz I'm like satiated and then starving 5 minutes later.

[00:38:23]>> it's not. I love a cake donut though.

[00:38:25]>> It's a dessert. Like you should probably Here's what I would say to answer her second question. If I was going to have a savory donut, it would be like like an uh uh instead of like a You ever heard of a bacon and cheese on a bagel? Instead of a bagel it'd be a donut. I would have like a I would have like an egg egg and cheese. I'd probably skip the bacon.

[00:38:43]Egg, cheesy scrambled eggs with a donut sando. The thing about donuts is they're so sweet. Like even ones that are less sweet. So it's hard for me to see that as like going with with eggs. Like I don't like sweet eggs. Um so I don't know if that's the route that I would take. But I I guess I could see it as like more of like a Danish type of thing. Like maybe adding some kind of cheese to it.

[00:39:04]>> and cheese? Yeah, like a ham and cheese kind of thing. Ooh. This morning I had a ham and my my guy and I had my personal food news that he didn't let me share.

[00:39:11]My guy and I split a ham and cheese croissant this morning. It was very very good, but point is he will not let me eat without him also eating it. And now it's quite annoying.

[00:39:21]Like I was eating guacamole, he had to have it even though his dinner was over.

[00:39:24]Anyway, that I could see that being a good donut. But I don't know that I need I don't want my donuts to be savory.

[00:39:30]That's I guess where I net out.

[00:39:32]Yeah, I I think >> But if you want that, get a scone.

[00:39:35]Oh, I'm anti-scone. Not sweet enough?

[00:39:39]I just don't see the point. What are we doing? It's like a It's like a bad biscuit. Breakfast pastries are just not your thing. You just don't You're just never interested.

[00:39:46]>> put baby in a corner or whatever that >> Yeah, baby in a corner. Why are you interested Like what is a breakfast pastry that you're like, yeah, that's worth it to me?

[00:39:53]>> well-executed ham and cheese croissant.

[00:39:54]I'm in on. Okay, you should come to Simple Loaf Bakery. Oh, yeah? It's really good. Like really really good. Um >> Do you remember in Australia when you would chase the pretzels? Yeah, that was awesome.

[00:40:05]>> awesome.

[00:40:05]>> [laughter] >> I love Baked Goods Lab. I really do. You just You were at the table and you had the pretzel and you were like, I need more of these. I'm going to go find out who makes these and where they are and how I can purchase them.

[00:40:16]>> I think I did go to the bakery.

[00:40:18]>> Yeah, I >> [laughter] >> forgot I You you did.

[00:40:21]I'm crazy. I love you.

[00:40:23]>> [laughter] [gasps] >> Staff, tell us where your donut shop is so we can support you. We want to check it out. Thank you to our wonderful producer Mike Wargon for getting these choco-lattes. What a treat.

[00:40:33]>> Choco-lattes. Choco-lattes with chocolate.

[00:40:37]Um, is it the choco-lits because it's We've been saying choco-latte. Is it choco-lit because it's chocolate?

[00:40:43]Well, I believe from Taco Bell, so I'm going with the phonetic Spanish um pronunciation. Yeah, that's what I'm going with. Cool. Um, we'll be back next week and we hope you have a great week filled with uh breakfast donuts to your liking.

[00:41:04]>> [music]